How is the Gujarati alphabet different from Hindi Devanagari?

Gujarati drops the horizontal top-line (शिरोरेखा) of Devanagari, and letter shapes are more rounded. The organizing logic is identical: five consonant rows by mouth zone (velar, palatal, retroflex, dental, labial), four consonants per row. Gujarati also has the retroflex lateral ળ, which standard Hindi does not.

How many letters are in the Gujarati alphabet?

Gujarati has 34 consonants and 12 vowels in its core inventory, plus vowel signs (matra) that attach to consonants. The system is an abugida, like Devanagari: each consonant carries a built-in short a unless a matra changes it.

Can I read Gujarati if I already know Hindi?

The shapes are different, but the sound system and organization are almost the same. Most Devanagari-literate learners can read Gujarati fluently in a few weeks of practice.

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Gujarati alphabet

The Gujarati alphabet, by mouth position

Gujarati script (ગુજરાતી લિપિ) is a sister of Devanagari. It drops the horizontal top-line but keeps the same phonetic logic: consonants are grouped by where in your mouth they're made. Learn the map once, and pronunciation of new letters comes for free.

Five zones, back to front

Within each zone you get four variants: soft, soft-aspirated, voiced, voiced-aspirated. Same tongue position, different puff of air and vocal cords.

Throat (velar)

ક ખ ગ ઘ

k, kh, g, gh

Back of the tongue lifts to the soft palate. Same spot as English k and g.

Palate (palatal)

ચ છ જ ઝ

ch, chh, j, jh

Tongue body pushes up to the hard palate. Close to English 'ch' in 'church'.

Roof of mouth (retroflex)

ટ ઠ ડ ઢ

T, Th, D, Dh

Tongue tip curls back and touches the roof. English has no direct match. Sharper, more clipped.

Teeth (dental)

ત થ દ ધ

t, th, d, dh

Tongue tip touches the back of the upper teeth. Softer than English t/d.

Lips (labial)

પ ફ બ ભ

p, ph, b, bh

Both lips close and release. Same spot as English p and b.

One letter Devanagari doesn't have

Gujarati keeps ળ (retroflex L), heard in words like કાળું (kaaLu, "black"). Curl your tongue back the same way you do for ટ, then say an L. That single letter marks a lot of Gujarati vocabulary.

How it differs from Hindi

The scripts share ancestry, so if you can read Devanagari most of Gujarati falls into place within an hour. Where they truly split is grammar: three genders (including neuter), ને for objects, એ for ergative subjects. The app teaches those side by side.

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